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Ron Beitler, Maury Robert win GOP primary in Lower Macungie commissioners race

Incumbent Ron R. Beitlerand longtime planning commissioner Maury Robert won the Republican primary for the Lower Macungie Township Board of Commissioners, according to unofficial election results from Tuesday.Beitler came in well ahead of his two opponents. Robert was slightly ahead of longtime Zoning Hearing Board member Bill Royer for most of the night, ultimately beating him out. The three Republicans were the only candidates up for two seats Tuesday. No one ran as a Democrat, and unless an independent candidate emerges in the General Election, the top two Republicans will win four-year terms on the board.Beitlergarnered 48.6%. Robert came in second, with 29.6 % of the vote, and Royer last wt 21.9%. All three are familiar township names, with Beitler serving on the commission with his son, also named Ron. Beitler, 61, a journeyman lineman for PPL, first ran for the seat four years ago because he thought there was too much growth in the township. He ran on a platform of preserving open space.He told The Morning Call earlier this month that land preservation would be good for the township in many ways. “It would avoid tax increases, would not crowd the roads any more than they already are [and] it wouldn’t crowd the schools any more,” he said.Robert, 71, worked in IT at Air Products for 35 years before retiring and has served on the East Penn School Board as well as the Planning Commission, which he has been on for more than 30 years and currently is vice chairman. He hopes to make the township run more smoothly by enacting clear policies and pushing to create a long-range capital plan. He said voters should decide whether they want to pay more taxes for land preservation.“I would like to keep the taxes as low as possible, but if the residents want to have additional open space, there ought to be a referendum,” Robert told The Morning Call earlier this month.Royer, 77, also supported the creation of a long-range plan. Stormwater management should be addressed, he added, with the township determining what it needs to spend to minimize flooding. He said he hoped the township would attract more revenue-producing, job-creating companies such as Mack Trucks, which has a major plant in the township that employees about 2,000 people.Morning Call reporter Michelle Merlin can be reached at 610-820-6533 or at mmerlin@mcall.com.
Source: Morningcall

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